Soaring once more despite a rash of injuries, the Los Angeles Dodgers will play host to a playoff rematch starting Friday against the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Dodgers lost a pair of position players this week when infielder Enrique Hernandez’s return from elbow surgery was cut short by an oblique injury, and outfielder Teoscar Hernandez went down with a hamstring injury.

The club returned infielder Alex Freeland to the roster from Triple-A Oklahoma City, while Alex Call and longtime power-hitting minor leaguer Ryan Ward will share time in left field.

“It’s pretty frustrating for us,” Dodgers center fielder Andy Pages said of the injuries, according to ESPN. “We have the opportunity to see them work hard every day and prepare so that those things don’t happen. But (injuries are) going to happen all the time.”

Pages has been doing his part of late. He was moved up to the No. 2 spot in the order this week and has three home runs in his past four games. The Dodgers are riding a team-wide power surge, with eight home runs in the past two games.

The club has won five straight games and 12 of its past 14 contests.

Left-hander Justin Wrobleski (6-2, 3.07 ERA) is set to take the mound in the series opener. He has just one career appearance against the Phillies and it was a struggle when he gave up five runs while recording just one out in relief last season.

Wrobleski opened the season 5-0 with a 1.25 ERA through six starts, but he is 1-2 with a 6.41 ERA over his last three outings.

The last time the Phillies played in Los Angeles, they were eliminated from the National League Division Series in a bizarre ending. Right-hander Orion Kerkering was left in tears after making a wild throw home with two outs instead of taking the out at first base to extend the game.

The miscue gave Los Angeles a 2-1 series-clinching victory in the 11th inning of Game 4.

Kerkering seems to be using the moment as inspiration with a 2.21 ERA through his first 23 appearances this season.

The Phillies enter the series off a three-game sweep at San Diego, allowing just three runs in the series.

Phillies left-hander Cristopher Sanchez is on a franchise-record 44 2/3-inning scoreless streak but will not pitch in the series. Instead, Philadelphia will turn to right-hander Zack Wheeler (4-0, 1.67), who is on his own scoreless innings streak.

Wheeler did not allow a run in either of his last two outings, and he is coming off a start Saturday against the Cleveland Guardians when he had six strikeouts over six scoreless innings while earning the win.

Wheeler is 3-2 with a 4.35 ERA in seven career starts against the Dodgers.

The series will mark the return of former Dodgers manager Don Mattingly to Los Angeles. Mattingly has guided the Phillies to a 20-8 turnaround since Rob Thomson was fired with a 9-19 record to start the season.

“Obviously, the Dodgers have been the world champions the last two years, so they’re going to bring plenty of trouble for us,” said Mattingly, who managed the Dodgers from 2011-15. “But we just got to play good baseball and take care of our own business and keep it simple. Usually, the team that plays the best baseball wins, so just look at it like that.”

–Field Level Media

The New York Liberty and Phoenix Mercury will meet for the second time in three days when they face off Friday night in New York.

For the Mercury (2-6), the goal is snapping a losing streak that is now at four games after an 84-74 loss to the Liberty (4-4) on Wednesday.

Team unity is key for the Mercury in getting back on track, according to Natasha Mack, who tied her career-high of 14 points in the team’s latest loss and is optimistic despite the tough stretch.

“We just have to stick together and continue building on what we’re doing now,” Mack told reporters afterward. “It’s getting better. We see it. But we just have to give a little bit more.”

The Liberty are coming off a much-needed win to avoid their first 3-5 start since 2022. A franchise-record 23-0 run in the third quarter was key in ending a three-game losing streak.

New York knows it will be tough to duplicate that success a second time against Phoenix.

“They’re going to come out with a little bit more intensity. They’re going to be a little more focused,” New York’s Jonquel Jones said after the win. “So, we have to also take it to another level, but it does feel good to be in the win column. And to play the right way, like win the right way. Not just going out there and things kind of luckily happening in the right way for us.”

Jones finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds for her second consecutive double-double.

Marine Johannes led the Liberty with 21 points and five assists, hitting a career-best seven 3-pointers and reaching the 1,000-point mark for her career. She’s averaging 12.6 points per game.

Her effort was big, especially with Sabrina Ionescu out with back soreness. Ionescu has played in only one game this year.

Kahleah Copper poured in 19 points to lead the Mercury and is now 10th all-time in scoring in Phoenix history with 1,370 points. Cooper is averaging 18.8 points per contest.

–Field Level Media

The Los Angeles Sparks were beginning to show signs of recovery from a slow start, only to see Kelsey Plum injure her ankle.

The Sparks will be without Plum for at least a week and hope they can find enough offense to compensate for the WNBA’s top scorer Friday night when they visit the Washington Mystics in a matchup of .500 teams.

Plum sprained her ankle in practice on Tuesday. Since she will not get revaluated until next Tuesday, she’ll also miss Saturday’s game at Connecticut and possibly Tuesday’s visit from Las Vegas. Plum has scored at least 25 in five games so far and leads the league at 26.8 points per game.

Los Angeles (3-3) is playing for the first time since Plum scored 38 points, including 24 in the second half, during Saturday’s 101-95 win at the Aces. Plum shot 12 for 17 and had nine assists, leading her coach Lynne Roberts to call her night “the most unselfish 38 points I’ve ever seen.

“But everybody, I could go down the whole roster,” Roberts said. “Just a total team win. Really proud of just the toughness.”

Los Angeles has scored at least 95 points in four straight games after opening the season with losses to Las Vegas and Indiana.

Without Plum, the Sparks are hoping Nneka Ogwumike can return after missing Saturday’s game with a hand injury. Ogwumike is averaging 15.6 points to start her second stint with the Sparks and practiced earlier this week.

The Sparks will also lean more on Dearica Hamby (18.5 ppg). She contributed 16 on Saturday after getting 27 two days earlier.

Washington (3-3) is attempting to earn consecutive victories for the first time in the early going. After losing by a combined 35 points to Dallas and Seattle, the Mystics earned a 78-64 win at Seattle on Wednesday.

The Mystics held the Storm to 34.9% shooting, marking the third time they allowed below 40%.

“I think (Wednesday) was a reflection of the players’ commitment to the Mystics and our DNA,” Washington coach Sydney Johnson said.

Washington also won despite a quiet showing from leading scorer Sonia Citron, who averages 17.2 points but was held to seven points for the second time in three games.

Without Citron’s production, the Mystics benefited from a double-double of 18 points and 13 rebounds from Shakira Austin. The Mystics also integrated Michaela Onyenwere into their lineup after the forward missed the first four games with a knee injury; she contributed 14 points.

–Field Level Media